Red Right 88

In Cleveland, hope dies last

Archive for the month “December, 2011”

06 Dec 2011
4 Comments

Veruca Salt is clearly a Browns fan

I want you to get me an Oompa Loompa right away!

I wanted to be the first to find a Golden Ticket, Daddy!

I want it now! What’s the matter with those twerps down there?

***

We were surprised – even though we shouldn’t be – at the level of acidity in the comments being thrown at the Browns today in the wake of Sunday’s loss to the Ravens.

Which leads us to a simple question: have you been watching the Browns this year?

While we’re not happy with the record or the performance on Sunday, we were more upset with the loss to the Rams, as that is a team the Browns are better than (or at least equal to).

But against the AFC North? This team isn’t good enough to win in the division.

But that’s nothing new, or at least nothing new since 1999.

The Browns have been abysmal against division foes since returning, be it the AFC North or the old AFC Central. This year they are 0-3, losing by an average of 9 points per game.

That fits into what they’ve done every year since 1999:

  • 1999: 1-9 in the division, average loss by 17.2 points per game
  • 2000: 2-8, average loss by 23.2 points
  • 2001: 5-5, average loss by 11 points
  • 2002, 3-3, average loss 3.7 points
  • 2003, 2-4, average loss 17.3 points
  • 2004, 2-4, average loss 12.3 points
  • 2005, 1-5, average loss 16.8 points
  • 2006, 0-6, average loss 13.7 points
  • 2007, 3-3, average loss 11.7 points
  • 2008, 1-5, average loss 15.4 points
  • 2009, 1-5, average loss 14.4 points
  • 2010, 1-5, average loss 13.8 points

If anything, the current team is just carrying on a dubious tradition laid down by their predecessors. And those numbers from the past few years pokes a big hole in the myth that this team was “competitive.”

For every fluke win over New England, there is a corresponding beat down by the Steelers. For every surprise Monday night win over the Giants, we get a shutout loss to the Bengals.

That’s Browns football.

And just as its going to take a bit more time for general manager Tom Heckert to fix the mistakes of his predecessors – and there were a lot – it’s going to take this franchise time to learn how to win in the toughest division in the NFL.

“I think it’s just like everything you do,” coach Pat Shurmur said in his Monday news conference. “You just keep plugging ahead and this thing will turn when we least expect it. We just keep pushing. You just keep pushing. Again, I saw some eyes roll in here, so I can tell that maybe doesn’t sink in real well. But, I will say this all you do is keep pushing. I don’t have the memory of what’s happened before. I do know this though, I’ve been around teams that have won and have built winners. You just be patient.”

The Browns are not going to win until they can win consistently within the division. And they are not going to consistently win within the division until they get some better talent on the field.

Browns fans have been patient seemingly forever, what’s a few more years if it means the team finally gets in right?

***

First off, God doesn’t care who wins a football game. We’ve understood that for a long time, although there are still people who struggle with that concept.

Having said that, we admit to being puzzled by what is going on with Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos.

Tebow’s ongoing and seemingly unexplainable success led us to post a question on Twitter during the Browns game:

Why does Tebow’s God like him more than McCoy’s God likes the Browns quarterback?

***

Finally, we recently read a short article in Sports Illustrated about St. John’s football coach John Gagliardi, who has coached the team for 63 years.

The article talked about how Gagliardi has had success – an NCAA-record 484 wins and four national titles – by treating his players with respect.

Further proof that you don’t have to be a douche bag to be a good football coach.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, NFL
05 Dec 2011
2 Comments

Sleeping with the enemy

With the Cleveland Browns taking on a Baltimore Ravens team that is probably going to finish 13-3 with the No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the AFC, the Browns need to play a perfect game to have a chance at winning on Sunday.

Now, while being perfect is probably unrealistic, you have to at least try.

Unfortunately the Browns were their own worst enemy on Sunday, falling to the Ravens for the seventh consecutive game.

This was a team loss in every way possible.

From the first play of the game – when Greg Little dropped another pass that hit him square in the hands, the receivers had a day to forget as Little had three catches for 18 yards, Jordon Norwood had three catches (and one weak penalty) and Mohamed Massaquoi had a lone catch.

Josh Cribbs earned the Brian Robiskie Memorial Blutarski Award this week for 0 receptions and 0 yards.

The tight ends did their part, with Ben Watson and Evan Moore both dropping passes that hit them square in the hands – Moore dropping a sure touchdown that would have cut the Ravens’ lead to 10-7.

Running game? How about 59 yards on 17 carries, with 24 of those yards coming on the opening drive.

Offensive line? Three sacks allowed and general lackluster play.

Quarterback Colt McCoy? For every play where his receivers betrayed him, he made just as many bad throws. A interception near the end of the first half set up a Baltimore field goal and McCoy finished with 192 yards on 17-of-35 passing.

McCoy may not throw many interceptions, but he knows how to make the ones he does throw count.

The defense got in on the act as well, giving up 204 yards rushing to Ray Rice and 290 on the ground overall.

After the Browns had to settle for a field goal because Moore dropped a sure touchdown in the third quarter, the defense gave up a 67-yard run to Rice on the first play, taking away what little momentum the Browns had.

The special teams clearly didn’t want to be left out of the fun as they gave up a 68-yard punt return for a touchdown to Lardarius Webb.

And so it goes for the Browns.

They haven’t beaten the Ravens since Phil Dawson’s field goal hit the support in Baltimore in 2007, they are most likely going to finish with 1 or fewer division wins for the fourth year in a row and, oh yeah, they’re heading to Pittsburgh on Thursday night to take on the Steelers.

And when we went to the team website after the game, we got the image you see at the top of this post. Is that what you really want to give someone for Christmas?

Bah Humbug, indeed.

(Photo by Cleveland Browns.com)

Posted in Cleveland Browns, disappointment, dispair, NFL
03 Dec 2011

Browns vs. Ravens – Week 13

The Cleveland Browns are at home on Sunday against Baltimore for their penultimate home game in the 2011 NFL season.

The Opposition

Baltimore record: 8-3 (1st in the AFC North)
Offensive rank: 17th overall/13th passing/27th rushing
Defensive rank: 3rd overall/5th passing/3rd rushing
All-time record: Ravens lead 17-7; the Browns are 4-8 at home against the Ravens
Last meeting: Baltimore won 20-10 in Week 16 last season
The line: Browns (+7)

What to Watch For

The Browns have been making progress on offense the pass three weeks and actually scored a first-quarter touchdown against the Bengals last week – a first for the season.

But this week is going to be different.

The Ravens come in with the third-best defense in the league, and have been resting since Thanksgiving, when they decimated an over-rated San Francisco team. Baltimore held the 49ers to just 170 yards and sacked quarterback Alex Smith nine times.

Which means this is a particularly bad week for the Browns to struggling in pass protection. According to Pro Football Focus:

After a sub-par, by his standards, start to the year where he allowed nine total pressures through the first four games, Joe Thomas (+10.6) has been back to his best and has allowed just one sack and four pressures since.

Sadly, nobody else along the offensive line can come close to Thomas’ level of play but none have been more disappointing than left guard Jason Pinkston (-12.8). Pinkston has allowed 24 total pressures in the passing game and sadly has been worse as a run blocker with a grade of -9.8 in that regard.

That’s not what you need going up against a very talented Ravens defensive line. You already know about Terrell Suggs (+27.3) and Haloti Ngata (+15.0), both among the very best defensive linemen in the league. However, what’s impressed so much about the Ravens’ defensive line this year is the supporting cast. Paul Kruger (+6.2) is relishing his role as a pass rusher lately, with no game more impressive than the Week 11 win over the Bengals where he had five pressures on 28 rushes. And then you have Pernell McPhee (+13.1), who has delivered a PFF grade of +3.0 or better in four of the last six games.

And if that is not enough, Baltimore safety Ed Reed likes to torment quarterbacks in the AFC North, especially the Browns. In his career, Reed has more interceptions (10), more return yards (356) and more TAINTS (3) against the Browns than against any other team.

Reed picked off Browns quarterback Colt McCoy twice in the team’s last meeting, but McCoy has avoided multiple-interception games this season and that needs to continue on Sunday.

“In this division, you’re going to face a tough defense every week,” Browns quarterback Colt McCoy said. “Cincinnati’s a really good defense; Baltimore’s really good; Pittsburgh’s really good. This is just one more test for us. We’re excited that we get to play at home. That’ll be good for us and we want to get one week better. We felt like we got better, we just didn’t finish like we wanted to last week.

“I think it’s important for us, as a young team, to really focus on some of the positives things that we did and build off those and then, correct the things where we were short, where we messed up or we didn’t finish and then, put it behind us and move forward.”

One way the Browns can do that is to start completing some passes down the field.

According to ESPN Stats & Information, McCoy has thrown a league-high 76.1 percent of his passes 10 yards or fewer downfield this season. He averaged a career-low 4.4 yards gained on his 34 pass attempts at the Bengals last Sunday. McCoy’s average yards per attempt is 5.9, the lowest of any qualifying quarterback.

Whether its McCoy, the fact that the receivers are average, at best, or the struggles along the offensive line (probably an equal combination of all three), the Browns need to start moving the ball through the air better.

The one thing the Browns have working in their favor is that the Ravens have stumbled all year following big wins. They’ve lost on the road to Tennessee (after beating Pittsburgh), Jacksonville (after beating Houston) and Seattle (after their second win against the Steelers).

So there is a precedence, and hope, no matter how slim.

The Prediction

The Browns have never beaten Joe Flacco as the Ravens have won six games in a row in the series.

That includes four games over the past two seasons where the Browns lost by an average of 18.5 points a game.

If the Browns don’t turn the ball over, limit the stupid penalties, and force the Ravens into a couple of turnovers that result in short fields for the offense, the Browns have a chance. You know, the same game plan from every other week this season.

It seems hard, though, to see that happening. But we do like the Browns to keep the game close, so we’ll take the good guys plus the points.

Record picking the Browns (using the point spread) this year: 7-3-1.

(Photo by The Plain Dealer)

Posted in Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, NFL | Leave a comment
02 Dec 2011

BCS: Bowl Championship … Sequel?

A favorite past-time among college football fans is complaining about the Bowl Championship Series – and this year is no different.

While the BCS is clearly not as good as a 16-team playoff would be – something that, oh by the way, never existed – it is still better than the old system, where teams (Notre Dame) would be accepting bowl bids in early October (Notre Dame) based on a three-game win streak against the service academies (Notre Dame).

So while it is better, this year it’s … not.

Unless Georgia pulls off an upset Saturday night in the SEC Championship game (the Bulldogs are 14-point underdogs), it seems pretty clear that we will be seeing LSU vs. Alabama for the second time this season.

And while it is easy to make a case that the Crimson Tide are the second best team in the nation, the idea of rematch just doesn’t sit well with us.

First off, Alabama already had its shot at LSU and lost. There’s also the fact that Alabama couldn’t even win its division, let alone the conference. Shouldn’t that be one of the criteria for a team to find itself in the national title game?

Finally, if there is a rematch that means LSU would have to beat Alabama twice to claim the title, while, for Alabama, it would be as if the first game never happened. Win on Jan. 9 and all is forgotten.

The problem is there really isn’t anyone else who can take the place of the Crimson Tide.

If Houston wins on Saturday to close the season at 13-0, the Cougars deserve to be in a BCS bowl, just not the title game. But you have to reward them for going undefeated.

Virginia Tech could make a case if they win the ACC Championship game to finish at 12-1, but the Hokies loss came to Clemson, who they are playing Saturday night. Like Alabama-LSU, you can’t reward the Hokies for beating Clemson and not count their earlier loss against them.

Oklahoma State probably had the best chance to jump over Alabama, but a loss to heavy underdog Iowa State hurts too much, even if the Cowboys win the Big 12.

Oregon is going to win the Pac 12, but the Ducks have two losses, one to LSU, so they’re out.

Thankfully we don’t have to worry about a Big 10 team getting involved (you’re welcome, America).

And let’s not even get started on the Big East, which inexplicably has an automatic BCS berth. At best, the Big East will have a three-loss team as its champion, at worst it will be a five-loss team.

The best team in the conference is probably West Virginia, but for the Mountaineers to take the conference title, they must beat South Florida tonight, then get a win by Cincinnati (8-3, 4-2) over Connecticut on Saturday to forge a three-way tie for the conference title with Louisville (7-5, 5-2).

If that happens, the Mountaineers would still need help from the polls, as the champion would be determined by which team has the highest ranking in the final BCS standings.

Got all that?

So it looks like LSU vs. Alabama – by no means a bad match-up – come the title game.

Of course, LSU could still drop the ball Saturday night, which would knock the Tigers out of the title game. Unless the voters decided they want a rematch so bad they just switch Alabama and LSU in the standings.

But that would never happen.

Would it?

Posted in BCS, football, LSU | Leave a comment
01 Dec 2011

Reds move one step closer to silverware

It’s not the Premier League title of the Champions League, but Liverpool moved one step closer to adding another piece of silverware to the trophy case with a 2-0 win over Chelsea in the Carling Cup.

Liverpool now moves on to the semi-finals, where they were drawn with Manchester City on Wednesday.

Conveniently, the draw placed Championship squads Crystal Palace and Cardiff in the other semi-final, guaranteeing an underdog story for the Feb. 26 final at Wembley.

“There is still a semi-final to play over two legs and there are some massive sides in there, so it is going to be very tough,” longtime Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher told The Daily Mail. “We’ll take the semi-final very seriously. I’ve played at Wembley once or twice for England, but I’ve never done it for Liverpool.”

Liverpool will continue its quest for its eighth Carling Cup – the most ever – when the home and away ties are set for Jan. 9 and Jan. 23.

***

It’s not all good news, however, as Liverpool officials are awaiting the results of a scan on Lucas Leiva’s knee, with the club fearing the talented midfielder could be out for the rest of the season.

The Brazilian international was taken off the pitch on a stretcher just minutes before the end of the match against Chelsea, following a collision with Ryan Bertrand.

Lucas, who remains on crutches, fears he has suffered serious damage to the knee and that he faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines, according to The Guardian. His season could be over if the scan confirms a ruptured cruciate ligament and a six-month recovery period.

***

Finally, after yesterday’s note about how the the Browns are 7-31 since 2005 against the AFC North, we went back to see how they’ve done within the division since 1999.

Butch Davis was the most successful, going 12-16 in his 3+ years in charge. After that, it gets pretty ugly:

  • Chris Palmer was 3-13 in his two years
  • Romeo Crennel was 5-19 in his four years
  • Eric Mangini was 2-10 in his two years (yikes!)

So the bar’s been set pretty low for Pat Shurmur; let’s hope he doesn’t stub his toe trying to clear it.

(Photo by The Associated Press)

Posted in Carling Cup, Cleveland Browns, Liverpool | Leave a comment

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